Managing Expectations
by AlternativeRocker
Summary: Ric and Serena have been put together to present a paper to the hospital board and they decide to edit it the night before it is due. Ric/Serena one-shot.


**Note:** Here, have a Ric/Serena one-shot. I love the thought of them working of something together so this happened. Now I will get back to the chapters of fanfiction I still have to write. ;)

* * *

Ric removed his glasses and left them on the desk next to the laptop, rubbing the area surrounding his eyes to wake himself up again. He felt as though he had been locked in the small office for days rather than the few hours it actually was.

"Serena, what we have written is good, actually it is very good. Look at it properly and you will see that."

Without averting her gaze from the screen on her desk she raised her voice, "I have been bloody looking it for weeks since Guy bloody Self gave us this report to make from thin air!"

"We are in this together, do not get angry with me."

She glanced sheepishly over to him, "Sorry, I know. He hates the two of us these days."

"Well, I think me joining your support campaign as soon as I returned, unwillingly placed me under that umbrella. He must have known this would just put more pressure on you while I am forced to sit here and watch you reach your limit."

Serena could hear that what she was faced with was affecting him, but couldn't tell how deeply he felt this way. "He wants me to give in, Ric, and thinks that if you are around then I will see how much more capable others are of multitasking and graciously hand my life over. He probably already has the contracts printed and his parts signed, waiting for our imminent swap."

"But we won't let that happen," Ric said before turning his attention back to their task. She continued to stare at him; in the time since he got back there had been an unwavering support from Ric as she battled with the CEO. He had said it so calmly and off-hand as if standing up for her was the most natural thing on Earth.

The slideshow had been playing on a loop all night - using a projector to see it full-size on the blank wall - whilst also having paper copies of each page printed and laying out on the floor. This evening started out as a simple run-through of what exactly they would say at 8am the following morning but had swiftly turned into a debate about what the presentation really conveyed.

After some quiet contemplation Serena broke the silence.

"Ric, it just doesn't flow as well as it could," she said in irritation as she paced across the floor space. He was kneeling on the floor as he tried to figure out what seemed to be lacking from it. That same line had been uttered by her a horrific number of times and he had a strong inclination to hit his head on the desk near to him.

"We have nine hours until we need to present this; neither of us have slept since early this morning, we cannot restart now!" He was not annoyed at her, but thinking about modifications to endovascular repairs for abdominal aortic aneurysms would never be his first choice of evening activities to partake in.

It was her work - he had simply spent the past month throwing ideas over to her which she shot down in flames. He was able to perform and discuss vascular surgery but to not be given a choice to be a part of this was beyond a joke. Serena had complained to Guy that she was fully capable of carrying it out alone but he would not back down, and Serena begrudginly accepted that working with Ric was not a bad thing. Without telling him she had in fact taken a few of his ideas, tweaked them and wrote them in to the strategy.

"I'm not saying restart, we could just reword and reorder a tiny little part." He knew her well enough to assume that the rewording would be of at least 90% what they already had. The main problem that he saw if they vastly altered the slideshow was that they would then have to change the publishable paper that they had put together. That would take more hours than they currently had; even Superwoman-Serena would find it impossible.

"Serena, look, if we move the success rate information forward one then it may sound better going in to alternative therapy types."

She moved so that she was hovering behind him, crouching so that she could see the hardcopy of the slides without straining her eyes. Ric had barely watched the finalised digital copy, preferring to print it off so he could write notes over them. She was the opposite; she would happily sit at the computer instead and change the work as she went along. Act first, edit later if possible, was the method she had adopted.

"That could work." The suggestion was simple but amogst all the other thoughts they had not considered the basic options for some hours.

Staying on the floor he turned and watched the projection be altered as she sat behind her desk. When she had done as he suggested, she let out a sigh and saved the work before turning off the computer.

"Can we finish up here now?"

"I suppose." There was a flicker in her eye that told him she was still not pleased but her brain was not fully functional after the stress of this work and the day-to-day life/work balance.

The light on the ceiling was not very intense so they were using the white beam of the projector machine to tidy away a few items. She walked over to help with the sheets on the floor and watched his smile turn to a grimace as he tried to stand.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, only my back ceasing up."

"Can I help at all?" Ric had expected one of her classic quips about his age so when the offer to assist came, he was taken aback for a moment.

She recognised the expression on his face and groaned, "What? I can be a nice person sometimes."

"It will be fine in a few minutes, you get off home and I'll see you bright and early."

Ignoring his instructions she sat on the floor beside him. Not looking at him and gathering the paper in front of them she muttered, "I'd rather make sure you're okay."

She did not want to face up to how she felt about her friendship with Ric. Since he had returned from his break to help Jess, she was unsure how she had went so long without the strength he instilled upon her. They seemed to have only grown closer while being apart.

"You are still such a mystery after all the time you've worked here."

"It's only been two and a bit years, you'll have to wait a lot longer to know me better."

"Will I get the chance? You won't be heading off to pastures new?"

"I don't think so, I've become quite fond of this place."

After starting the conversation they soon forgot about getting up from the floor, content to sit on the uncomfortable thin carpet next to the other.

"Thank you for helping. I hate to admit it but you kept me level-headed enough for us to complete this," She said, motioning to the mountain of paper they had used up during the past month.

"You," Serena looked at him in confusion with her eyebrows scrunched together, "_You _completed the report, not us."

She shook her head and let her eyelids close with a smile. "Mr Self gets our professional differences completely wrong; we may believe in opposing ideas but when our minds are forced to follow the same route we can be great."

"One day your deep insights must tell me how our friendship came to be, Ms Campbell, I still do not understand it fully. As for Guy, he would not have a clue where to begin to actually work well with another person." He smiled kindly at her when she opened her eyes to him again.

Serena returned the smile as she straightned her legs out in front of them, turning her body towards him more than she already previously was. Closing the space, she caught his bottom lip between her own, revelling in the feel of it as she moved their mouths together. She felt him respond slowly, but not give as much as she would expect from the situation. Pulling away she waited for him to speak, she would have continued to deepen the contact but knew he would not have followed.

"This is not wise, Serena."

"Tell me to stop and I will." She lightly kissed his cheeks and moved back to his mouth. Until the contact was made between their lips Serena had not intended to kiss him but instinct was a powerful thing and she followed through with it.

He knew he should do that but found himself unable to. Ric moved across as she began to ternderly kiss him again, finding herself eventually sittng on his lap, her knees bent at either side of his.

"What were you complaining about before - something about not sleeping? Is the grumpy old man not concerned therefore over this?" She asked with a smirk, undoing a button on his black shirt.

"No, he can accept this, what about the MBA graduate who is not totally happy in regards to the presentation?" Ric replied, having already unbuttoned it he dragged her blouse tantalisingly slow down her arms.

"She can bluff well in meetings."

"As long as she doesn't fake anything else in the very near future," He replied with a slight quirk to the corner of his mouth. She laughed and rolled her eyes as she pushed him backwards until he was lying flat on the floor.

Being this seductive - if that were the word, she had all but forgotten how to properly entice a man - was fun but if Ric enjoyed seeing her that way he would be sorely disappointed when she did not live up to the build-up. She knew that in the forefront of her mind. Flirting was a different skill, that was something she could do in her sleep, but truthfully she had only been the whole way with a very small number of males. She was hugely aware of the experience he had that it simply added to her fear of being unable to satisfy him.

He read her pause as an indication to not go further and took his hands away from her body.

She placed her palms on his face, silently requesting that he sit up and face her, and pressed her mouth hard against his, "Don't stop, I do want this. It's just... Right, think how many marriages you've had; that is higher than the number of men I have had sex with. And even at that, a couple of those were very brief. I am not as slutty as you think and although I may know where everything goes, I beg of you do not have high expectations." Serena could not fathom why she admitted all of this yet did feel some of the terror lift as she tried to get across her point.

"Are you attempting to say you are worried about your performance?"

Covering her face with one of her hands she briefly nodded, "Maybe. Yes! I'm crap in bed, Ric; honestly that is probably why Edward cheated hundreds of times. I like it but I'm trash at doing it."

"Serena, you could be the worst lover in the world - which I am certain you are nowhere close to - and I would still want you more than anybody else. If you did not wish to have a physical relationship then I would deal with that but you do, don't you? I hope that I can show you that if we find our own perfect rhythm, your view will change." He littered her face, shoulders and chest with small kisses throughout his speech. "To tell you the truth, I may have slept with a few women but nobody really thinks they are good in bed."

She rested her head against the top of his as he continued to enjoy the taste and texture of her bare skin, "You believe in me too much. Ric, I promise you, you will be exceptional yet still not reach your climax from anything I do."

"I don't care, Serena, you are magnificent in so many other ways that I have to live you to all of that. Sex is nothing compared to the other qualities you possess."

Tilting his chin back, she tried to convey her depth of gratitude and desire she had for him. They both smiled as they saw the feelings onside them being mirrored in the pair opposite. His fingers danced across her hips while she made their mouths connect again. After a few minutes of pleasurable kissing her elbow grazed harshly along the floor and she quickly sat back up as while he looked in confusion at her.

"Nope, I can't do it here, Ric. On the floor at our age?"

Smiling, he brought himself up to her level and passed her the shirt he had removed from her as she continued to straddle his lower half. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

Eventually she stood and reached out a hand which he accepted the help of. She continued to keep their hands together and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles when she asked her next question, "Do you want to come back to mine?"

"What about your mother?"

"She has a nurse; I am allowed a life too." She stood staring at him, willing him not to push her on the matter. This had nothing to do with how she was coping with Adrienne, she had been attracted to Ric from the beginning. All she wanted was to spend the evening with a man she thought the world of. It was not a night to comfort her during - and if he were to consider it as such, she wanted to walk out and forget anything had happened.

"Yes, yes you are," He smiled and leaned in, running a finger down the side of her face.

If he had not believed she wanted more then he would have argued; regardless of how strongly he felt for Serena at that moment he would never take advantage of her. Capturing her lips in a gentle kiss he placed his arms around her waist as hers circled his neck.

* * *

They were not acting like teenagers; they had enough control of themselves to be able to get inside the house and up the staircase without stopping to become passionate again. It lasted until the landing where he put his arms around her abdomen and kissed the base of her neck. Serena turned, her eyes sparkling with the thrill of the evening, and laced both their hands together as she pulled him quickly into her bedroom before they were caught in the act.

Ric laid her down on the duvet and leaned over her, moving away some strands of hair that had fallen across her eyes. Lying next to her, they were on their sides facing the other as she began to slide the buttons loose on his silky shirt once more.

Looking over his shoulder to the clock on her bedside table she sighed - they had spent longer than she thought in the office. The alarm was gaining on them and they seemed yo be about to engage in additional time-consuming activities, regardless of how much she anticpated being one with him. Ric followed her line of sight and had the same thoughts she was. Neither were capable of pulling all-nighters, much less standing in front of the board going into minute detail about surgical incisions.

He ran his thumb along her lip line which brought her eyes back to his.

"Deny it if you want but you are tired. We don't need to do anything tonight." Ric claimed, moving a hand under her pink shirt and running his fingertips across her stomach and ribcage.

"Sure? This isn't just a way to not have to endure getting intimate with me?"

"We've waited more than two years, I don't think one night will make a huge lot of difference, and anyway we are still going to be together. Stop putting yourself down, you are beautiful,"

As if to prove he was telling her the truth he allowed his hands to wander around every part of her body, his fingers brushing underneath the garments that still separated their contact. As her breath started to quicken at his strokes he suddenly stopped with a grin, watching her come down from a high. The past few moments had not shown him anything to cause a belief in her words, the gentle moans and look of ecstasy on her flushed cheeks only made him look forward more to the full experience.

"Tomorrow," He whispered, ignoring the hint of a glare he was receiving from the dark eyes in front of him. His touch was electric to her and she had been on the edge, and then he was just staring at her again. The tension dissipated as Ric repeatedly kissed her, deepening each time until the reached a level of contention that it began to increase their tiredness.

She turned in his arms so that her back was in contact with his chest. Ric shifted forward and held her close as she covered his arms with her hands and squeezed gently.

"We can celebrate the success of the presentation." The last few words were mixed in with a yawn and he couldn't help but smile at her. The professional in her never disappeared even during exhaustion.

"Good idea, now get some sleep, love" He pressed a kiss just below her ear, at the top of her jaw.

"You called me love." She whispered, shifting as close as was physically possible. They were still wearing the majority of their clothing but they were perfectly happy to stay that way.

"Yes, I suppose I did." This situation was unimaginable even earlier on the same day but now Serena did not want to be anywhere else with any other person. Even after what he had said, they both knew they were not in love - not yet at least - but the idea of this possibly becoming more was blissful.


End file.
